Listening Comprehension Exercise
BBC Update on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Thursday April 4, 2002 © British Broadcasting Corporation
     First, read a brief summary of Israel's recent history: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/v3_israel_palestinians/maps/html/default.stm
Then watch and listen to this video.

Vocabulary:
battle
Bethlehem
pictures
to film
Israeli
army
gunmen
Palestinian
militants
to flee
Manger Square
Church of the Nativity
to take refuge
traditional
birthplace
most-wanted list
defense minister
sacred
to storm
 to run low on
to refuse
to surrender
infantry
artillery
civilian
arrest
operation
to be behind s.t.
suicide
bombings
police officers
to surrender
weapons
to confiscate
to be taken away
questioning
public
to support

action
demands
to withdraw
offensive
tanks
Nablus
West Bank
U.N. (United Nations)
humanitarian disaster
in the making
former prime minister
Ehud Barak
moral
superiority
escalate
intensify
Paul Wood
Jerusalem

Listening Comprehension Questions:
1. Who filmed these images, and when?
2. How many Palestinian gunmen have taken refuge in the Church of the Nativity?
3. What is believed of this church by some people?
4. What did the Israeli defense minister say?
5. What problems are the Palestinian gunmen experiencing?
6. What has Israel done, rather than what, that they claim is more humane? In what way?
7. What reason does Israel give for the arrests in the video?
8. Who was arrested and what was done to them?
9. Do the people of Israel support these actions?
10. What are some people in the international community demanding?
11. How long has the current Israeli offensive been in progress?
12. What distinction does Nablus have?
13. What was Israel's former prime minister's comment on the current situation?
14. Does it look as though the hostilties will decrease soon?



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